Welp, you knew we’d see another one of those stupid games from the Seahawks. They always have a few of them, sprinkled throughout a season, and it was just a matter of When and not If it was going to happen again. Turns out, it was in Santa Clara, during a soggy, rain-soaked game, where they nipped us 26-23 in overtime. Sometimes, the better team doesn’t win; that’ll happen when the better team commits the most penalty yardage in franchise history. Let’s get this over with.
What I’m Geeked Out About After Fourteen Games
Chris Carson had an absolute MONSTER football game, and one I’m afraid is going to be forgotten given the outcome. With Penny out with injury, and while playing most of the game with our 3rd string right guard, Carson racked up 22 carries for 119 yards and one of the beastliest touchdowns on 4th & goal from the 1 that you’ll ever see! Everything about this game was sloppy … except for Carson, who was electric and dynamic and fantastic!
Other Things That Caught My Eye (In A Good Way)
It wasn’t a blowout. There were SOME good things in this game, even if it ended poorly.
Jarran Reed, for instance, had his Coming Out party that no one saw because the rest of the football-watching world was focused on the Steelers/Patriots game on CBS. He was a man among boys, doing his best Aaron Donald impression, with 3 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss, and 4 hits on the quarterback. And at VERY key points in the game, where the Seahawks absolutely could NOT give up any more points! He has 8.5 sacks on the season now, as he’s looking to get PAID.
As expected, the defense buckled down in the second half (after giving up 17 points in the first, and it would’ve been more had it not been for 2 deep over-throws of George Kittle), holding the 49ers to 9 points (including overtime). So, some shoutouts are in order: Frank Clark with a sack, Poona Ford being a stud in the middle (third on the team in tackles with 6), and Bradley McDougald (before he got injured and went out for most of the game) with an early forced fumble.
Offensively, a tip of the cap to Doug Baldwin with his 2 TDs, as he was a welcome sight.
Finally, good on Michael Dickson for having an excellent punting day, aside from a couple that found the endzone.
Let’s Talk About Penalties
14 penalties for 148. Most of them were legit. Sweezy stunk. Simmons stunk. Ifedi had one at a bad point in the game. #17 had the worst, most pointless block in the back I’ve ever seen on a punt late in the game. Most of these were legit!
But, this fucking referee crew had NO FUCKING CLUE what Pass Interference was, and kept throwing flag after flag when a no-call was warranted. The one late on Shaq Griffin was the most horse-shit call I’ve seen all year, and that’s NOT an exaggeration. I don’t know if it cost us the game – as we certainly were capable of blowing it in other ways – but it DID give the game to the 49ers. So, good job refs, you fucking wastes of space.
Other Things That Caught My Eye (In A Bad Way)
The Seahawks lost this game when Ethan Pocic lined up for an injured Jordan Simmons, period. That guy is a BUST! One more gentle Fuck You from Tom Cable, the worst O-Line coach (and talent evaluator) in franchise history. As soon as the camera pointed to Pocic, and I saw how much SMALLER he looks than Fluker or Simmons, I knew we were fucked. He’s just not big enough to play the interior line, as he was getting eaten alive all game, and had to hold on for dear life just to keep our guys from getting killed! And, when he didn’t hold … yep, you guessed it, immediate pressure. The Calling Card of a Tom Cable offensive line. No WONDER Pocic hasn’t played at all since Sweezy got healthy! Pocic is not the future; he’s destined to be a backup, and this team is going to have to do a lot of work this offseason to make sure the interior of the line is shored up.
As long as Pocic is in there, this offensive line is going to look A LOT like it did in weeks 1 and 2. Everyone always talks about the Come To Jesus meeting about running the football as the reason for the Seahawks’ turnaround this season, but no one talks about Pocic, and how he was the root cause for all the bad line play those two games. Fuck that guy, I hope our other guards get well soon!
Also, wouldn’t this game have been interesting if Janikowski hit that extra point? Or if he made any attempt whatsoever to tackle that guy who ran it back for a touchdown?